There is a very fine line between homage and something that is just outright theft of an idea. A good example of the former is Wargroove, which is clearly inspired by Intelligent Systems’ Advance Wars, but has its own identity through storytelling, unit design, features, presentation and so on. On the other end is Warside. Warside plays well, and it’s…
Religion is one of those topics you’re never meant to discuss in polite society. When it comes to video games, it’s one that’s historically either been airbrushed out of games to avoid offence, or dealt with in very broad brush strokes to define it away from existing real-world religious groups.…
Read MoreOne of the challenges I have with Koei Tecmo’s Warriors franchise is determining the pecking order of the various games within the series. If you asked me to rank the Final Fantasy series, for example, there’s a clear upper echelon (Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VIII), but…
Read MoreNot once have I ever thought to myself “hmm, I really need a fishing RPG in my life.” That is, not until now. Fishing Paradiso is, in fact, a fishing RPG, and I honestly say my life is better with this game in it. It first launched for iOS/Android in…
Read MoreIt’s amazing to think about this, given how fundamentally popular the games have been over many years now, but there hasn’t been a Hatsune Miku rhythm game released onto the PC before. Not a proper one, anyway. There has been a VR thing, and it was fine for what it…
Read MoreOtoko Cross is basically a reskin of the Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire. There’s a Mahjong Solitaire grid there on the screen, and you match pieces to clear the board. Then, after a few rounds, you also see the character on the left-hand side of the screen change into something skimpier.…
Read MoreI really like Dune: Spice Wars. I’ve been playing the Early Access build of the game for two weeks now, and the best way I can frame it is that it’s what I would have expected if the Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth games had continued being…
Read MoreWhat can I say about cats that hasn’t been said before? Cats are great. They do silly things, like chasing small plastic springs. They do cute things, like lick your nose to say hello. They do impressive yet annoying things, like beg for food (but at exactly the right time).…
Read MorePicture the scene, if you will. Socrates approaches the Lyceum, deep in thought. His disciples gather around him, and he poses this question: What’s a Greek Urn? The answer is, of course, about five drachmas an hour, and that’s a very old joke. Probably not quite as old as Socrates…
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